Early mobile telephones typically comprised a hand held unit that included a microphone, a speaker, a transceiver, a keypad, and a display unit. These units tended to be somewhat bulky and cumbersome to carry. Thus, lighter and more compact units were eventually developed. One such design is commonly referred to as a “flip-open” style telephone wherein the telephone comprises two portions that are pivotally interconnected. When not in use, the two portions are positioned in a face contacting relationship to protect the display, the keypad, or other elements of the telephone. The result of this design is a mobile telephone that is compact without hindering its functionality. To utilize the phone, one portion is pivoted away from the other to expose both portions for use.
Another mobile telephone design is commonly known as a “slide” style telephone. In this design, one portion of the telephone slides away from the second portion to expose the display, the keypad, or other elements of the telephone and to reduce the overall size of the telephone without hindering its functionality. To utilize the phone, the slidable portion is moved to an open position, exposing the keypad, screen, or other elements for use.
Yet another mobile telephone design is commonly known as the “open-face” style telephone. In this design, the display and keypad are fixed on the face of the telephone.
The size and weight of mobile telephones continues to decrease as mobile telecommunication technologies improve. The present mobile telephones, although small and easy to carry, can hinder or provide the perception of hindering the phones functionality, particularly with respect to the microphone element. The microphone is generally positioned proximate to a user's mouth. As mobile telephone sizes decrease, the position of the microphone moves farther away from the user's mouth. This can hinder the microphone's ability to capture speech, or at least alter the user's perception of the microphone's ability to capture speech based upon the location of the microphone away from the user's mouth.
Thus, there is a need for a telephone microphone that is extendible when the user manipulates at least a portion of the telephone.
A further need exists for an automatically extending microphone that can be incorporated into “flip-open” and “slide” style telephones. An additional need exists wherein the microphone is also automatically retracted.
Yet a further need exists for an automatically extending microphone design that is resistant to wear or breakage and requires minimal moveable parts.